Eckerd Youth Alternatives, a national resource of hope for troubled children, has named Francene Hazel director of admissions and its toll free call center.

Hazel will lead an Eckerd Youth team that provides quick, efficient and compassionate response and service to parents, professionals and others seeking help for troubled youth. Eckerd Youth Alternatives (EYA) is a private, not-for-profit organization that serves at-risk and troubled youth ages 10-17 through 39 programs in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire. The Eckerd Youth national toll free call center--which callers may reach toll-free at 800-914-3937 -- is often the first point of contact for parents and professionals seeking help for troubled teens.

Hazel has been with EYA for 10 years, serving most recently as a business development and marketing coordinator. In 2001, she received the Ann Bowden Child Advocate Award from the Florida Association of Child and Family Agencies that is given to those who advance the cause of children. Prior to joining EYA, she was a patient care coordinator at the University of South Florida's Psychiatry Center. Hazel has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, FL.

About Eckerd Youth Alternatives

Eckerd Youth Alternatives provides therapeutic treatment and nontraditional experiential education for youth who have experienced behavioral, emotional and academic problems. Through its proven caring, nurturing approach, Eckerd Youth offers every child an opportunity to succeed. Most recognized for its highly successful therapeutic wilderness education system for youth, Eckerd Youth Alternatives also offers top-rated residential and day treatment, follow-up aftercare services and early intervention and prevention curriculum in elementary schools. For more information, call 800-914-3937 or visit http://www.eckerd.org.

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